How to Can Pears

Canned pears are one of the most commonly purchased canned fruit. Their flavor remains consistent and the texture is true to what the original fruit felt like. I love canned pears and can find many uses for them. Canned pears are delicious alone, with cottage cheese, or even in a yummy baked pear crisp! Pears are very simple to can yourself at home and only require a hot water bath canning process. The finished product will last for many months, available for your use whenever you would like to delight in a pear desert!

The first thing you need to do when canning pears is to choose the pears themselves! Look for perfectly ripe pears that are soft to the touch and not mushy. You need to start with a great fresh pear to end with a great canned pear. Many produce departments will sell pears in a case for canning. If you have a pear tree in your yard, you can pick the pears when they reach a mature size, but allow them to ripen off the tree. Many times pears will not ripen well on the tree, so you need to pick them and have them ripen off the tree. Choose pears that have few blemishes and are just soft enough that you would eat them. Bartlett pears are the best variety for canning.

Next you will want to be sure all your canning supplies are ready and gathered. Be sure you have washed all the canning products in a hot soapy water bath. Rinse them well, and proceed with the jar preparing process. You will be able to can the pears in a hot water bath canner, so a pressure canner is not necessary.

Wash the pears, and then peel the skin off the pears. While you do not have to peel the pears, the fruit is generally more enjoyable is the skin is removed. The fruit will get very soft during the canning process where the skin will still have a bit of toughness left. This also gives you the opportunity to cut off any worm holes or other blemishes. After you have washed and skin the pears you can cut them. Many canners choose to slice them, but you can also cube them if you would like, or just simply halve them and remove the core.

After all the pears are cut, you will need to add a preserving product. The best product for fruit preserving is called Fruit Fresh. Add enough to provide a light covering over all the pears. This product is just a dried form of citric acid which is vitamin c.

Then you will need to make the syrup. Fruit should be canned in a sugar and water solution to maintain color, flavor and form. A light syrup is made of 6 cups water and 2 cups of sugar. Begin heating the water in a sauce pan and add the sugar while stirring to completely dissolve the sugar. Once the syrup is boiling, you can boil it for 3 minutes, then turn down the heat to keep it warm.

Then add the pears to can using a hot pack method. This will help the pears to bond with the solution and prevent them from floating to the top. This step is not necessary, but many choose to use a hot pack. If you want to simply use a cold pack, you can just pour the hot syrup over the pears once they are in the jars.

Then you can pour the pear/syrup solution in to each jar. Wipe off the rim of the jar and then poke a small rubber spatula around the jar to release any trapped air bubbles. It is important to leave at least a half inch space at the top of the jars. Place the lid on a clean j ar rim and then tighten the band gently. You can then place the jars into the hot water canner and they are ready for processing.

Pears need to be boiled for at least 20 minutes for proper preservation. However, do not boil them longer than 30 minutes or they will be too mushy. Pints will finish quicker, usually only needing 20 minutes, while quarts should be processed for an extra 5 minutes, or 25 minutes. If you would choose to use a pressure canner, set the pressure to 5 pounds and process the pears for 10 minutes.

Remove the jars and allow them to cool on a towel for 12 hours. Check to be sure the lids formed tight seals, and the pears are ready to be stored!

Though the process may seem long, pears are one of the easiest canned fruits and the end result is delicious! If you have some extra pears, why not try this method and see the results for yourself!